Topic > Astrophil and Stella Analysis - 728

For example, the line “Of living deathes, deere wounds, faire, stormes, and friesing fyres” (4) contains some commas that break one of the oxymorons. These commas are removed in the 1598 version, changing it to: “Of living dead, dear wounds, making storms and liberating fires” (4). The correction demonstrates the importance of comma placement and how one incorrect comma can interrupt the flow of a line or even the entire sonnet. Thus, the comma corrections allow the oxymoron series to be kept separate, as was probably the intent in the first edition. An important difference also within this sonnet is found in the tenth line, where in the 1591 version a part of the line seems to be missing: “As tears pours ink, and sighs, breathes” (10). This missing section, in which Sidney discusses the conventions of other poets, is replaced in the 1598 version so that the line becomes "As he tears out his inke, & sighs exhales his words" (10). These missing words affect the speaker's style, flow and statement as he states that he can better express his emotions of love through his voice rather than by borrowing overused poetics.